Door-operating mechanism for dumping-cars.



"A. G. ELVIN. D0011 OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DUMPING CARS.

APPLIOATION FILED OGT.11, 1910,

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES n1: NORRIS Pzrtns co.. WASHINGTON, n. c.

A. G. ELVIN.

110011 OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DUMPING 0111s.

APPLICATION FILED 0OT.11, 1910.

987,222, v Patented Mar.21, 1911.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1i 3 5? 1 m -'-i WITNESSES 1n: NORRIS Pz'rlns 00., wasmuarbn, n. c.

APPLIUATION FILED 00T.11, 1910.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

6 SHEETS BHEET 3.

THE NORRIS PETERS 0a., WASHINGTON, AC4

. A. G. ELVI N. DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DUMP-ING CARS.

APPLIUATION FILED 00T.11, 1910.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911,

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

I I I WITNESSES 1m: NORRIS PETERS cm, WASHINGTON, n. c.

A. G. ELVIN. DOOR OPERATING MEGHA NISM FOB DUMPING CARS.

APPLICATION II LED O OT. 11, 1910. I

' Patented Mar.21', 1911.

6 SHEETS-SHEET a.

F' lG-14-..

In: uomus PETERS c0 wnsnmaron, n. c.

A. G., ELVIN. I r DOOR. OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DUMPI NG CABS.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 11; 1910.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

6 'SHEETBSHEET 6.

WITNESSES y Y rpir :(omus PEI-nu cm, wasnmorol a. 1:.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT G. ELVIN, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DUMPING-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

Application filed October 11, 1910. Serial No. 586,444.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT G. ELvIN, of East- Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Door- Operating Mechanism for Dumping-Cars, of which improvement the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mechanism for effecting the opening and closure of the swinging doors controlling the bottom openings of so called drop bottom or dump ing cars, and its object is to provide an appliance of such character which shall be simple and inexpensive in construction, and which, in operation, shall present the advantages of securely holding the doors in closed position by a positive and efiective gravity lock which is independent of the means whereby they are elevated into such position, and of permitting their release and movement into full open position without involving danger tothe operator by sudden and rapid movement of the member which is manually operated to release them.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side view, in elevation, of a portion of a drop bottom car, illustrating an application of my invention; Fig. 2, a plan or top view; Fig. 3, a side view, in elevation, of the final locking means of the doors; Fig. 4, a view, similar to Fig. 1, illustrating a structural modification; Fig. 5, a plan or top View of the same; Fig. 6, a side view, in elevation, of the final locking means; Fig. 7, a view, similar to Fig. 1, illustrating another structural modification, the parts being shown with the door locked in closed position; Fig. 8, a plan or top View of the same; Fig. 9, a side view, in elevation, of the final locking means; Fig. 10, a view, similar to Fig. 7, the parts being shown in position just preceding the unlocking of the door; Fig. 11, a similar view, showing the door in open position; Fig. 12, a view, similar to Fig. 1, illustrating another structural modification, the parts being shown with the door locked in closed position; Fig. 13, a plan or top view of the same; Fig. 14, a side view, in elevation, of the final locking means; Fig. 15, a view, similar to Fig. 12, the parts being shown in position just preceding the unlocking of the door; and, Fig.

1G, a similar view, with the door in open position.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, the operating mechanism is preferably, as shown, located between and supported on the center sills, 1, 1, of a car having hopper bottoms or discharge chutes, 2, to the end openings of which are hinged swinging doors, 3. A link, 4, having a transverse arm or T head, 4*, on its upper end, is pivotally connected, at its lower end to the door, 3. Pairs of rollers, 5 and 6, are journaled on the ends of the T head, 4*, one pair of said rollers, 6, being adapted to move over, and rest upon, the correspondingly curved surfaces of a pair of locking brackets, 7, secured to the center sills, and the other pair of rollers, 5, to run in circumferential grooves, 8 of greater width than the diameter of the rollers, which are formed in a pair of arms, which have, in this instance, the form of segments, 8, fixed upon an operating shaft, 9, journaled in bearings, 9 secured to the center sills. It will be understood that the duplication of the rollers, locking brackets, and arms is made merely for the purpose of equalizing the strain transmitted through the link, and that the structural and operative principle of the appliance is independent of such duplication. The operating shaft, 9, extends outwardly to one side of the car, and is squared, at and adjacent to its outer end, for the application of a removable operating crank. Aratchet wheel, 10, isfixed upon the operating shaft, and rotation of the latter is prevented when the teeth of the ratchet wheel are engaged by a pivoted pawl or latch, 11, which is held in engagement with the ratchet wheel by a swinging locking cam, 12, pivoted to the side of the car above the ratchet wheel. The excess of width of the grooves, 8, over the diameter of the rollers, 5, is provided to allow freedom or lost motion of the rollers in the grooves, which is necessary by reason of the fact that the adjacent end of the connecting rod, 4, does not travel in the same radius as that of the grooves. By reference to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the door, 3, is safely and positively locked, and may be said to be triple locked, when closed, by three independent means; first, by the cam, 12, which prevents movement of the door and its connections by holding the pawl, 11, in engagement with the ratchet; second, by

the gravity of the arms, 8, which'are pivoted above their centers of gravity, and which, when in the position shown in full lines, prevent the downward movement of the T head of the link, 4; and third, by the engagement of the rollers, 6, with the locking brackets, 7. I

The operation of opening the door to discharge the load is as follows; The locking cam, 12, is thrown up to the right, the pawl, 11, disengaged from the ratchet, 10,

a crank is placed on the end of the operating shaft, 9, outside of the car,'and the operating shaft is turned by the'crank in the direction of the arrow. During the preliminary movement of the operating shaft, the rollers, 5,

will remain in contact with the inner sides of the grooves, 8 of'the arms, 8, and no I movement will be imparted to the link, 4.

When the lower ends of the grooves come in contact with the rollers, 5, the rollers, 6, will be lifted off the locking brackets, 7, and

the T head of the link, being thereby freed,

, the door will fall outward into open position,'as indicated in dotted lines, by its own gravity and that of the load bearing on 1t,

- without furthermovement of the crank and operating shaft by the operator, thus avoidlng any jerk or quick movementof the crank and preventing any injury to the operator.-

, When the door is in openposition, the arms,

8, stand at the left hand extremity of their g traverse, in whichposition they'were before ofthesegment grooves, 8*, on said rollers,

untilthe rollers, '6, are brought into contact with the locking brackets, 7, when they will fall into their locking position thereon and the arms will drop'into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive, illustrate a structural modification, substantially similar in function and operative principle to the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, and differing therefrom, structurally, in the omission of the rollers, 6, and locking brack-' ets, 7, and in a change in the form of the arms, 8. In this instance'the T head, 4*, of the link, 4, the rollers, 6, carried thereon, and the locking brackets, 7, are dispensed with, and the link is turned downwardly at its upper end," forming, in effect, the lower arm of the former T head, upon which a pair of rollers, 5, is mounted, as before; The circumferential grooves, 8, of the arms, 8, communicate, at one end, with substantially radially'extending grooves, 8 in the inner ends of which the rollers, 5, rest,

when the'door, 8, is in closed position, with the axes of said rollers in a plane below the axis of the operating shaft, 9, as shown in full lines in Fig. 4, whereby the doors are locked by the gravity of the arms, 8. The final locking of the doors is effected by a ratchet,*10, pawl, 11, and pivoted locking cam, 12, as in the instance first described. In opening the door, the operating shaft is rotated in the direction of the arrow, and the rollers, 5, remain in contact with the inner sides of the grooves, 8, without movement of, the link, until they are, by the contact of the lower ends of the grooves, raised above the plane of the operating shaft, whereupon the link is released, and falls forward, its rollers, 5, passing, as before, freely through the segment grooves, without imparting further movement to the arms and operating shaft, and without danger to the operator.

Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive, illustrate another structural modificatiom'in which, as in the instance last described, the link, 4, carries only one pair of rollers, these being, in this instance, rollers, 6, which, when the door is locked in closed position, as shown in Fig. 7,. rest on looking brackets, 7 fixed to the center sills, as in the construction of Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The locking brackets are curved at bottom to the same radius asthe rollers, and arethence inclined upwardly and in the direction of the operating shaft, and terminate in slightly downwardly extending top faces, 7. A single segment, 8, having a correspondingly curved circumferential slot, 8", is formed integral with, or fixed to, the outer end of an arm, 8, fixed upon the operating shaft, 9. The pin, 6, on which the rollers, 6, are secured, fits the slot, 8, which, at and near its lower end, is widened to form .a space, 8 to provide for the outward movement of the upper end of'the link, 4, in the upward traverse of the pin, 6. due

to the different radii in which the link and segment move. A ratchet, 10, pawl, 11, and pivoted locking cam, 12, are provided for the final locking of the door, as in the construction before described. The door, 3, is

the shaft, reaches the position shown in Fig. 10, the lower end ofits slot, 8*, bears on the pin, 6*, and raises the link, 4, until. the rollers, 6,-reach the top faces, 7 ,"of the locking brackets, 7, when the link is released from the segment bearin and swung forward to the position shown in Fig. 11, by the gravity of the door. and load, the door being thereby opened, as in the preceding instances, without imparting further movement to the segment and operating shaft.

In the structural modification shown in Figs. 12 to 16 inclusive, the link, 4, as in the construction last described, carries only a single pair of rollers, 6, on its upper end, said rollers resting on, and traversing over, lockingbrackets, 7, having slightly downwardly inclined top faces, 7. The upper end of the link, 4, is coupled, by the pin, 6 on which the rollers, 6, are secured, to the :upper end of the segment, 8, which is provided with the correspondingly curved circumferential slot, 8 An arm, 8 is, as in the construction last described, secured on the operating shaft, 9, but instead of being, in that case, fixed to the segment, it is provided with a pin, 8*, at its outer end, which traverses freely in the segment slot, 8. The door is, as in the preceding in stance, locked by the gravity of the segment,

8, which prevents the link, 4, from being moved, and by a final locking pawl, ratchet, and cam, on the outside .of the car, as before described. In opening the door, the operating shaft is released from the pawl and ratchet lock, the members of which are similar to those shown in Figs. 3 and 9, and is turned by a crank in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 12. The pin, 8 of the arm, 8, traverses freely upwardly in the segment slot, 8*, until it reaches the upper end of the slot, against which it bears and raises the segment and the link, 4, coupled thereto. hen the rollers, 6, of the link, reach the top faces, 7, of the locking brackets, 7, the segment is released from the pin, 8 and the link is swung forward to the position shown in Fi 16, by the gravity of the door and load, carrying with it the segment and permitting the opening .of the door, without. as in the preceding instance. imparting further movement to the arm, 8, and operating shaft. As shown in Fig. 16, sufficient clearance is allowed in the segment slot below the pin, 8 when in this posit-ion, to allow the door to swing freely outwardly when a heavy load is thrown upon it.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent: 1. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination of a gravity opening door, a link coupled to said door, an operating shaft journaled in fixed hearings on a car, a circumferentially grooved or slotted segment adapted to be vibrated by said shaft, and connections coupling the link and segment with the capacity of operative movement of the link coincidently with, and independ ently of, respectively, the movement of'the operating shaft.

2. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination of a gravity opening door,a link coupled to said door, an operating shaft journaled in fixed bearings on a car, a circumferentially grooved or slotted segment adapted to be vibrated by said shaft and suspended so as to tend to assume a normal lowermost position by gravity, and connections coupling the link and segment with the capacity of operative movement of the link coincidently with, and independently of, respectively, the movement of the operating shaft.

3. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination of a gravity opening door, a link coupled to said door, an operating shaft journaled in fixed bearings on a car, a circumferentially grooved or slotted segment adapted to be vibrated by said shaft, connections coupling the link and segment with the capacity of operative movement of the link coincidentally with, and independently of,

respectively, the movement of the operating shaft, and means for positively locking the segment and link in normal position.

4. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination of a gravity opening door, a link coupled to said door, a fixed locking bracket normally supporting said link, an operating shaft journaled in fixed bearings on a car, a circumferentially grooved or slotted segment adapted to be vibrated by the operating shaft, and connections coupling the link and segment with the capacity of operative movement of the link coincidently with, and independently of, respectively, the movement of the operating shaft.

5. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination of a gravity opening door, a link coupled to said door, a fixed locking bracket normally supporting said link, an operating shaft journaled in fixed bearings on a car, a circumferentially grooved or slotted segment adapted to be vibrated by the operating shaft, connections coupling the link and segment with the capacity of operative movement of the link coincidently with, and independently of, respectively, the movement of the operating shaft, and means for positively locking the segment and link in normal position.

6. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination of a gravity opening door, an operating shaft journaled in fixed bearings on a car, a circumferentially grooved or slotted segment fixed upon said operating shaft, and a link, coupled, at one end, to the door, and engaging, at its opposite end, the groove or slot of the segment.

7. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination of a gravity opening door, an operating shaft j ournaled in fixed bearings on a car, a circumferentially grooved or slotted segment fixed upon said shaft and tending to assume, by gravity, a normal lowermost position in which its center of gravity is below the axis of the shaft, and a link, coupled, at one end, to the door, and

combination of a gravity opening door, an

1 operating shaft journaled in fixed hearings on a car, a circumferentially grooved or slottedsegment fixed upon said operating shaft, a'link, coupled, at one end, to the door, and a roller, journaled at the opposite end of said link and slot of the segment. 7 V v 7 ,9. In a car door operating mechanism, the combinationof a gravity openin door, an operating shaft journaled in fixe bearings ona car, a circumferentially grooved or slotted segment fixed upon said operating shaft, a link, coupled, at one end, to the door,

and engaging, at its opposite end, the groove engaging the groove or I or slot of the segment, and means for positively locking the segment and link in normal position.

10. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination of a gravity opening door, a link coupled to said door, a fixed locking bracket normally supporting said link, an

operating shaft journaled in fixed hearings on a "car, an arm fixed on said operatin shaft, and connections coupling said arm an link, with the capacity of operative movement of the link, coincidently with, and independently of, respectively, the movement of the operating shaft.

ALBERT Gr. ELVIN. Witnesses:

J. SNOWDEN BELL, A. J. FOWLER.

Copies ofthis paltent'may be obtainedfoi' five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. i 

